Millersburg Chocolate Walk will boost downtown traffic and holiday sales

Historic Downtown Millersburg will stage its annual Chocolate Walk on Saturday, December 13, drawing visitors to the square and surrounding businesses between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. The event will feature handmade chocolates from Troyer’s Sweet Shoppe, storefront window decorations, presale sales at participating merchants and a downtown window decorating contest designed to encourage exploration of local retail and dining.

Verna Troyer handpicked and handmade 14 varieties of chocolate that will be distributed at participating businesses. Presale tickets will cost twenty dollars and are available at the Holmes County Chamber or online, with a day of price of twenty five dollars. Presale ticket holders will receive a gift bag and a map, and attendees can pick up maps and gift bags at the chamber on the day of the walk. Organizers have also created special coupons to be used at local businesses during the event.

Organizers have built the Chocolate Walk into a seasonal draw that sends shoppers into storefronts while they shop and dine. The event is structured to capture spending that often concentrates in the last weeks of the year, and coupons and gift bags are intended to convert event attendees into paying customers for independent retailers and restaurants. For a community with a concentrated downtown business district, events like this provide short term revenue and help maintain visibility for small merchants during a competitive holiday period.

From an economic perspective the walk reinforces the experiential retail model that many small town downtowns are pursuing. By combining product sampling, window displays and coupon driven discounts the event leverages low cost marketing to boost traffic and encourage incremental sales. For municipal leaders and business groups, repeatable events that increase visitation can help justify investments in streetscape, signage and parking management aimed at sustaining year round downtown activity.

Residents who plan to attend should purchase presale tickets at the Holmes County Chamber or online to secure a map and gift bag. The Chocolate Walk will serve both as a community celebration and a practical sales opportunity for downtown businesses in the critical pre Christmas retail period.